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The Legend of Korra: Book 4 |OT2| ALL HAIL THE GREAT UNITER
- Thread starter Toa TAK
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BKatastrophe
Member
I mean, why would you?
I wasn't even the least bit suspicious. They played me like a damn fiddle.
The finale itself was great, though the way it was resolved felt like a cop out. Deus ex nanochips.
Atraveller
Banned
*avatar quote*
m_shortpants
Member
It's okay in my eyes because the finale takes pieces from so many episodes. The villians are extremely calculated.
BKatastrophe
Member
Pretty much this. There's no way they could have fought back unless they used that. Sometimes there are things that have to be introduced for the sake of the plot, and nothing more.
BKatastrophe
Member
m_shortpants
Member
exactly. all the characters are done extremely well, surprising given the large cast.
i'm only a few episodes into season 2. im trying to think of a good analogy that describes how i know i'm walking into the disappointment that only a cancelled tv show can provide
BKatastrophe
Member
He's the best.
Well have fun! XD
Atraveller
Banned
We should change the thread title to "Korrasami and Young Justice".
I vote yes.
My method is to repress any knowledge of the cancellation and let my future self deal with it. Expectations be damned.
edit: What the fuck Aqualad
BKatastrophe
Member
It might be more accurate. I dunno why I'm even here anymore.
BKatastrophe
Member
For Korrasami of course.
Actually questioning my presence more, now
Naga was a great companion pet to Korra and one that was criminally ignored as the season went on. I can kind of give the writers a pass in so far as it is much more difficult to integrate a PolarbearDog into the plot, and making her relevant without creating situations that felt contrived so that she could be useful, than it is a flying Bison. But that an explanation for why Naga dropped off, not an excuse. Sure Appa was far easier to write into an episode since flight made him almost entirely immune to traversal concerns, to the point that if something was a threat or able to deter Appa is was actually an expressed plot point in a given episode. Further compounding the issue, or perhaps the most obvious hurdle was in writing Naga is that she could not function as a collective means of transportation like Appa could. They even started giving Korra a wind glider so they could get from point A to Point B with less context. Everyone riding Naga when there are SatoMobiles makes little sense. But that was also kind of the point of Naga. What use was she?
Korra was relatively speaking a country bumpkin, perceived as something of a fresh off the boat culturally antiquated outsider, a remote Water Tribe girl experiencing 'the new world' that was rapidly redefining... everything.
As the Avatar, her actual usefulness in such a world of developing industry and technology was being questioned and rightly so. She was in many ways a last gasp of an era of Avatar that really ended with Aang; trained in the old traditions to fulfill functions for a world that was on the verge of not existing anymore.
So really Naga served as a necessary reminder of the divide and line Korra was trying to walk between, to bridge, while never fully being able to achieve because the world was developing a pace faster than any one person, even an Avatar, could keep up. How do you stay relevant, how do you adapt, what is worth letting go of and what is worth holding on to? Why have a PolarBearDog when you can use cars and planes?'
The show couldn't drop Korra, but they certainly dropped Naga, and that's a damn shame. Korra may have had bad writing here and there, but it did sometimes manage to drive home the idea that it wasn't what you are, it's who you are. It's the strength of your character and convictions that ultimately mattered, even if it ultimately told that tail within the framework of the 'specials' while dropping the Equalist issue after season 1.
Beyond that, Naga was great to see on screen, and allowed the writers to show Korra having legitimate warmth and empathy for the sake of it (to the animal that she loves) instead of just pushing dialogue to necessitate plot points.
And really, that's the value of Naga, of the Avatar, of people in general, that's what you absolutely should not let get lost in the shuffle when writing your stories. It's not always the case. but a good rule of thumb is to make the stories about characters, not the chess pieces on the board.
BKatastrophe
Member
It's just upsetting, because as far as we know, it's just a general thing for the Avatar to have an animal buddy. Compared to Wan's cat-deer, Fang, and definitely Appa, Naga just doesn't seem as useful or as present as the series goes on. Kind of sad, because Naga put in serious fucking work through Air and early Spirits. I always saw Naga as the one thing Korra can always count on to be by her side, even in the roughest times. Or at least, what Naga was supposed to be.
Like, Naga should have been traveling with Korra during her rough period when she was traveling and trying to figure out what was wrong with her. That kind of upset me that Naga wasn't there.
Like, Naga should have been traveling with Korra during her rough period when she was traveling and trying to figure out what was wrong with her. That kind of upset me that Naga wasn't there.
Great point that completely skipped my mind for some reason, heck did Korra and Naga even have a reunion scene? If naga was simply happy to see her I call bullshit.
I would say that it wasn't just the amount of episodes that was an issue with such a large cast, it was the size of the cast period when combined with a lack of clearly defined groupings and the weakness of feeling like you had to give air time to each and every one of them.
Ok but what do you mean by defined groupings? Wasn't it basically 'Team Avatar' versus Kuvira? Sure! But it was Korra and EVERY NAMED BENDER IN THE ENTIRE 3 PRIOR SEASONS WHO WASN'T A BAD GUY versus Kuvira and Bataar + Army. Part of the problem with that though was within KAENVITE3PSWWABG was that they all fell into groups that had if ever so slightly different functions while also having a ton of overlap. You have to ask yourself was it really worth it? How many fans of say, Jet 2.0 were there that he had episodes focused on him? Or that other Tenzin Daughter? What about Meelo? Did we really need to spend time including and seeing any of those three out being Old Republic Jedi?
At the end of the day, they don't matter, they really don't. Maybe Jinora, sure, but if you're going to give her time, give any none core character time, make sure it's on something that builds the character to a useful conclusion and contribution to the end game or resolves their personal narrative. She got her tattoo last season, why is she getting kidnapped this season? Heck, why isn't it enough to see her growing as a person when it intersects with the main cast, and then have lesser characters showing up in the finale to highlight the organizational growth and maturation of the air benders as a whole?
You have 13 episodes of your finale season, ask yourself, whos' stories are the most important and what stories are only important enough to justify establishing in passing and cues throughout the season and the epilogue? When you spend stupid amounts of time inventing excuses for other meaningless characters 'something to do' (which doesn't even progress them as characters but are slavishly in service to resolving the plot context) but you then you actually waste valuable time showing it? More important characters get the shaft.
Speaking of:
Zaheer was a great villain, that hailed from the 'Sith' line of villainy even though he wasn't absolute evil. He had a singular mission and a justification for that mission. It wasn't complicated, so neither did he need to be, he simply needed to be a threat, look cool, and provide credible tension. 'True Freedom/Anarchy/End the Avatar cycle, done.
Ok shouldn't that have been Kuvira? 'Restore Earth Kingdom by any means necessary'.
Ok, but why 'by any means necessary'? How did you go from a captain of the guard and a dancer to this?
Unlike Zaheer, she doesn't come from a blank slate, we already know what her circumstance was before but in a way that left the viewer only being able to made educated guesses, THEN it's a time jump and we don't even get to see how she got from Season 3 to Season 4 all that well. Zaheer didn't need a complex character or to have complex motivations, but Kuvira did, especially because they kept pushing how callously and even needlessly evil she was, Zaheer was at least pushing some insane ideologue 'save the world as I see it' stuff, Kuvira came across as almost petty in comparison she didn't 'need' to do a lot of the terrible things she did, even completely ignoring the scale that both she and Zaheer were addressing.
In the end every character seemed to get the shaft, when the story should have focused on Kuvira/Korra, especially Korra, yet Korra has the least screen time out of any season (I'm more than willing to bet). Because again, gotta show all those characters because they kept introducing characters as an attempt to fix the fact that they essentially nuked the relationships between the core Team Avatar in seasons 1-2 and never gave the properly closure to the issues that should have separated them so it all came out hollow.
I would say that it wasn't just the amount of episodes that was an issue with such a large cast, it was the size of the cast period when combined with a lack of clearly defined groupings and the weakness of feeling like you had to give air time to each and every one of them.
Ok but what do you mean by defined groupings? Wasn't it basically 'Team Avatar' versus Kuvira? Sure! But it was Korra and EVERY NAMED BENDER IN THE ENTIRE 3 PRIOR SEASONS WHO WASN'T A BAD GUY versus Kuvira and Bataar + Army. Part of the problem with that though was within KAENVITE3PSWWABG was that they all fell into groups that had if ever so slightly different functions while also having a ton of overlap. You have to ask yourself was it really worth it? How many fans of say, Jet 2.0 were there that he had episodes focused on him? Or that other Tenzin Daughter? What about Meelo? Did we really need to spend time including and seeing any of those three out being Old Republic Jedi?
At the end of the day, they don't matter, they really don't. Maybe Jinora, sure, but if you're going to give her time, give any none core character time, make sure it's on something that builds the character to a useful conclusion and contribution to the end game or resolves their personal narrative. She got her tattoo last season, why is she getting kidnapped this season? Heck, why isn't it enough to see her growing as a person when it intersects with the main cast, and then have lesser characters showing up in the finale to highlight the organizational growth and maturation of the air benders as a whole?
You have 13 episodes of your finale season, ask yourself, whos' stories are the most important and what stories are only important enough to justify establishing in passing and cues throughout the season and the epilogue? When you spend stupid amounts of time inventing excuses for other meaningless characters 'something to do' (which doesn't even progress them as characters but are slavishly in service to resolving the plot context) but you then you actually waste valuable time showing it? More important characters get the shaft.
Speaking of:
Zaheer was a great villain, that hailed from the 'Sith' line of villainy even though he wasn't absolute evil. He had a singular mission and a justification for that mission. It wasn't complicated, so neither did he need to be, he simply needed to be a threat, look cool, and provide credible tension. 'True Freedom/Anarchy/End the Avatar cycle, done.
Ok shouldn't that have been Kuvira? 'Restore Earth Kingdom by any means necessary'.
Ok, but why 'by any means necessary'? How did you go from a captain of the guard and a dancer to this?
Unlike Zaheer, she doesn't come from a blank slate, we already know what her circumstance was before but in a way that left the viewer only being able to made educated guesses, THEN it's a time jump and we don't even get to see how she got from Season 3 to Season 4 all that well. Zaheer didn't need a complex character or to have complex motivations, but Kuvira did, especially because they kept pushing how callously and even needlessly evil she was, Zaheer was at least pushing some insane ideologue 'save the world as I see it' stuff, Kuvira came across as almost petty in comparison she didn't 'need' to do a lot of the terrible things she did, even completely ignoring the scale that both she and Zaheer were addressing.
In the end every character seemed to get the shaft, when the story should have focused on Kuvira/Korra, especially Korra, yet Korra has the least screen time out of any season (I'm more than willing to bet). Because again, gotta show all those characters because they kept introducing characters as an attempt to fix the fact that they essentially nuked the relationships between the core Team Avatar in seasons 1-2 and never gave the properly closure to the issues that should have separated them so it all came out hollow.
They had a nice little reunion scene when Korra fist got back to Republic City.
And they they had this cute little scene together episode 9.
BKatastrophe
Member
They had a nice little reunion scene when Korra fist got back to Republic City.
And they they had this cute little scene together episode 9.
Makes the fact that during her worst period, Korra wasn't with her best friend, an even worse scenario. Damn it Korra, Naga loved you too.
Throughout every episode that Korra was away from Naga, there should have been cuts to a sad Naga accompanied by Sarah McLachlan music
thebaroness
Member
I still think Sokka is Lin's real dad.
My theory is Sokka and Toph had an affair but had to keep it under wraps to keep Sokka's marriage safe.
My theory is Sokka and Toph had an affair but had to keep it under wraps to keep Sokka's marriage safe.
They sorta made that joke in Book 3, when they cut to Naga and Pabu fighting over mako's scarf during the finale.
But yeah not the best season for pets during Book 4 with Naga being away from Korra for about six months and Pabu being separated from Bolin for quite some time. Still Naga was at least there for Korra while she went through therapy with Katara to slowly regain the ability to walk again.
Please no. That makes the whole Lin/Tenzin romance very weird ha.
Atraveller
Banned
Nah, it's only weird if Aang's the dad.
Atraveller
Banned
Unless he was an Airbender hiding his talent the entire time...
Tal Shiar Agent
Member
Animals for transport aren't as important in a world with cars, maglevs, planes, and high-speed boats.
He was sleep though
This thread is heading into choppy waters.
Alright, Amon, Unaloq, Zaheer and Kuvira fight all out, who wins?
Zaheer can be wind. Unaloq isn't giant Kaiju, but he can have some spirit buddies I guess.
Amon might seem like the obvious winner, but I think the others stand a chance if they attack from long distance. I think I'd back Zaheer, Korra beat Amon pretty fast once she could airbend, and he's way better at it.
Alright, Amon, Unaloq, Zaheer and Kuvira fight all out, who wins?
Zaheer can be wind. Unaloq isn't giant Kaiju, but he can have some spirit buddies I guess.
Amon might seem like the obvious winner, but I think the others stand a chance if they attack from long distance. I think I'd back Zaheer, Korra beat Amon pretty fast once she could airbend, and he's way better at it.
I'd say Amon.
The Avatar needs a Yagami Light/Lex Luthor villain archetype.
Did we ever see Amon Blood Bend an entire room? How powerful was he shown to be in comparison to his father.
I don't think so, but we did see him bloodbend his dad as a kid, who had gotten older.
Dunno if that's an indicator of power or not though.
This also has me thinking about how dangerous it would be to have an open wound against a bloodbender.
Hell, controlling blood = instant death if you stop it from flowing into the heart. Or the brain to carry oxygen, or anywhere. A bloodbender would only have to stop blood for a small amount of time.
Tarrlok bloodbent an entire room, twice, and Amon was able to best him through his own bloodbending without even using his hands (psychic bloodbending).
I assume he can do it.
JadedWriter
Member
You can't just simply out prep Lex Luthor and Vandal Savage. It gets pretty crazy with the prep in season 2.
You know. Had Young Justice tried to ass pull a Zataana and Cheshire relationship they'd make you believe it.
Tal Shiar Agent
Member
They should have just called themselves the Xanatos Collective instead of the Light.
Atraveller
Banned
I'd believe it. I'm at the middle of season 1, the fighting is ok, team interaction is what interests me the most.
I've forgotten a ton about the earlier seasons, but I seem to remember that Korra beat Amon bu air bending him out a building. Was he just too shocked to use his blood bending or did Korra power out of it?
Amon seems like he'd be one and done if someone took him by surprise.
Well in the writers defense they did realize after book 1 that the correct action was to break up Korra and Mako, but like everything in book 2 it had terrible execution.
And let's be fair here, if Asami was given as much time devoted to her as the other core cast members and the show wasn't about 'The Avatar', Asami would probably be more popular than Korra herself. Not that I dislike Korra (at all!) but Asami is incredible.
And yeah, a billion times better than book one. I mean it still would have had a ham fisted romance but at least the two characters have actual chemistry. Removing the Mako love plotline and replacing it with Korrasami instantly makes the story about a million times better while also shifting more focus onto Asami and her story, which was already the best plotline in book 1.
Just imagine:
Alternate histories are so captivating. I wouldn't want to see what that Korra would be capable of. Defeat mainline Korra if not for plot armor? Maybe.
Agreed, Asami is amazing, she's by far the most likeable character in the show, even though when you first saw her in season 1, you probably thought she was going to be one of those devious, scheming rich girls who uses her stunning looks to get what she wants.
Thankfully Bryke didn't go down that road.
Don't worry, no one will screw things up for us before the proper Community Thead is done. After that however......people have the tendency to start going off the rails when they think it's safe to do so.
It's probably the best decision Bryke made after the characters were conceptualized.
It's also why I can never agree with people who said 'I forgot she was even a part of team avatar'. What there was on her, her plotlines and her chemistry with Korra is one of the highlights of the series. I never forgot even if she wasn't taking part in the big fight sequences. Heck "Asami is so cool" is something that my girlfriend said more than a few times throughout the series.
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